But I have finally completed and submitted assignment 2
Must do better next time, self motivation has been a problem.
Monday 15 November 2010
Tuesday 25 May 2010
Been away a while
Too long in fact. It all started when I was ill at Christmas, nothing serious, just flu, but for a month I just didn't have the energy or inclination to write. From that point until now, I've managed to find lots of excuses and no enthusiasm, except at inconvenient times, to re-commence this course. By posting this I'm hoping to embarrass myself into getting going again.
I've forgotten everything I've done already on assignment 2, so I'll have to re-cap some of that first, but hopefully doing so will re-ignite the spark thats missing.
Watch this space .......... hopefully not for too long
Monday 1 February 2010
Some Progress
Well its been two weeks since my last update, which tells its own story about how much time I've managed to put into this course recently.
I've not been completely idle, I've squeezed in a few of the exercises, and finished "On Writing", which is a terrific read and very informative, providing an overview of the writing process (at least from SK's point of view) which I felt sat nicely alongside the "build you up slowly" approach of the OCA.
In part two of this course I have attempted to move away from writing based directly upon my own memories, and tried to write fiction. This has proved to be more difficult than I expected, and I now find that I have to be "in the mood" in order to set anything down in my notebook which is worth developing later. This is another reason I have fallen behind my target. (OK no more excuses).
I am also attempting some of the exercises out of sequence. To be specific, I'm avoiding the poetry ones like the plague. See earlier posts for my reasons why.
I've not been completely idle, I've squeezed in a few of the exercises, and finished "On Writing", which is a terrific read and very informative, providing an overview of the writing process (at least from SK's point of view) which I felt sat nicely alongside the "build you up slowly" approach of the OCA.
In part two of this course I have attempted to move away from writing based directly upon my own memories, and tried to write fiction. This has proved to be more difficult than I expected, and I now find that I have to be "in the mood" in order to set anything down in my notebook which is worth developing later. This is another reason I have fallen behind my target. (OK no more excuses).
I am also attempting some of the exercises out of sequence. To be specific, I'm avoiding the poetry ones like the plague. See earlier posts for my reasons why.
Saturday 16 January 2010
This Writing Lark is Difficult
Well its not so much the writing, its the finding time required to give it the attention it needs in between family duties and work.
I'm finding at the moment that, between my job and catching up on all the day to day life stuff that went on hold during Christmas, my work attention span is exhausted and all I want to do when I do get an hour to myself is vegetate in front of the TV, and bloody enjoyable it is too.
Having said that I've got a couple of the course work exercises from part 2 out of the way this week, but I'm still behind target and will probably let the end date slip a couple of weeks.
I've started to read the book "on Writing" by Stephen King. Its a strange work, falling somewhere between a "how to" manual on writing and an autobiography, but its well written and entertaining as well as informative, and the pages are flying by.
I have to confess I'm not a great fan of Mr King, although I do like some horror fiction (James Herbert has long been on my favourite authors list). Reading this book however has helped me understand why I dont like his work, its too real and it shocks me.
I came to this rather startling (to me anyway) conclusion whilst reading his account of how the shower scene in his first bestseller "Carrie" came to be written. He tells how Carrie herself was based upon two girls from his high school who were bullied basically because they were different, and admits that he joined in the abuse, although in an infrequent and minor way.
The translation of this real life experience is, I believe what makes the scene so shockingly lifelike, and why, ultimately, I don't like it.
With this understanding came the realisation of just how good a writer he must be.
I'm finding at the moment that, between my job and catching up on all the day to day life stuff that went on hold during Christmas, my work attention span is exhausted and all I want to do when I do get an hour to myself is vegetate in front of the TV, and bloody enjoyable it is too.
Having said that I've got a couple of the course work exercises from part 2 out of the way this week, but I'm still behind target and will probably let the end date slip a couple of weeks.
I've started to read the book "on Writing" by Stephen King. Its a strange work, falling somewhere between a "how to" manual on writing and an autobiography, but its well written and entertaining as well as informative, and the pages are flying by.
I have to confess I'm not a great fan of Mr King, although I do like some horror fiction (James Herbert has long been on my favourite authors list). Reading this book however has helped me understand why I dont like his work, its too real and it shocks me.
I came to this rather startling (to me anyway) conclusion whilst reading his account of how the shower scene in his first bestseller "Carrie" came to be written. He tells how Carrie herself was based upon two girls from his high school who were bullied basically because they were different, and admits that he joined in the abuse, although in an infrequent and minor way.
The translation of this real life experience is, I believe what makes the scene so shockingly lifelike, and why, ultimately, I don't like it.
With this understanding came the realisation of just how good a writer he must be.
Wednesday 6 January 2010
Introducing Characters - Research Notes
There are many ways to describe people, using physical, or emotional descriptives, or by their location or intellect. The following three extracts are from three books of very different natures, which all introduce a main character in their respective tails, using very different means.
Describing Miss Shepherd, an accidental lodger.
“Nearly six foot, she was a commanding figure, and would have been more so had she not been kitted out in greasy raincoat, orange skirt, Ben Hogan golfing-cap and carpet slippers.”
Alan Bennett – Writing Home
In his description of Miss Shepherd, Bennett concentrates on the physical apects of her appearance which make her stand out as unusual, an eccentric. Although the description is quite limited, covering just five points, you immediately have a mental picture of what this woman looks like.
She is the archetypal city centre bag lady, she will have dirty, untidy grey hair, be dressed in mismatched clothes and will walk with a shuffling, stooped gait.
Decribing Katz, a travelling companion.
“For the past three years he had devoted himself to rectitude and – I instantly saw now as he stooped out of the door of the plane, to growing a stomach. He had always been kind of fleshy, but now he brought to mind Orson Welles after a very bad night. He was limping a little and breathing harder than one ought to after a walk of 20 yards.”
Bill Bryson – A Walk in the Woods
In this description Bryson writes about meeting an old friend who he has not seen for some time, and who he will be spending the next few months with whilst they walk the Appalachian Trail together. The text concentrates on one aspect of his friends appearance, or rather changed appearance, the size of his stomach, and the consequential effect of that on their proposed activity.
Whilst virtually nothing is given about Katz physical appearance, the introduction of the character works because of the potential for disaster introduced by the one detail which is described.
Describing Robert Langdon, the novels main character.
“You’re a professor of religious iconology at Harvard University. You’ve written three books on symbology and - ”
Dan Brown – Angels and Demons
In introducing his lead character, by means of a telephone call from a person trying to solicit his help, Brown gives nothing away about his appearance, rather he concentrates on the qualifications of the character, providing in very few words the necessay information for the reader to appreciate the characters ability to fulfill his part in the story.
Describing Miss Shepherd, an accidental lodger.
“Nearly six foot, she was a commanding figure, and would have been more so had she not been kitted out in greasy raincoat, orange skirt, Ben Hogan golfing-cap and carpet slippers.”
Alan Bennett – Writing Home
In his description of Miss Shepherd, Bennett concentrates on the physical apects of her appearance which make her stand out as unusual, an eccentric. Although the description is quite limited, covering just five points, you immediately have a mental picture of what this woman looks like.
She is the archetypal city centre bag lady, she will have dirty, untidy grey hair, be dressed in mismatched clothes and will walk with a shuffling, stooped gait.
Decribing Katz, a travelling companion.
“For the past three years he had devoted himself to rectitude and – I instantly saw now as he stooped out of the door of the plane, to growing a stomach. He had always been kind of fleshy, but now he brought to mind Orson Welles after a very bad night. He was limping a little and breathing harder than one ought to after a walk of 20 yards.”
Bill Bryson – A Walk in the Woods
In this description Bryson writes about meeting an old friend who he has not seen for some time, and who he will be spending the next few months with whilst they walk the Appalachian Trail together. The text concentrates on one aspect of his friends appearance, or rather changed appearance, the size of his stomach, and the consequential effect of that on their proposed activity.
Whilst virtually nothing is given about Katz physical appearance, the introduction of the character works because of the potential for disaster introduced by the one detail which is described.
Describing Robert Langdon, the novels main character.
“You’re a professor of religious iconology at Harvard University. You’ve written three books on symbology and - ”
Dan Brown – Angels and Demons
In introducing his lead character, by means of a telephone call from a person trying to solicit his help, Brown gives nothing away about his appearance, rather he concentrates on the qualifications of the character, providing in very few words the necessay information for the reader to appreciate the characters ability to fulfill his part in the story.
Wednesday 30 December 2009
Tutor Feedback
Received feedback on assignment 1 already, thanks Liz, excellent service.
Generally I appear to have done quite well, my weakness being an inability to punctuate properly. this may be down to laziness on my part though.
According to the course notes, I am supposed to incorporate the feedback in my learning log (ie this blog). Not sure how this works practically, so for now I'll just save the comments with the original assignments and cross the bridge as and when I need to.
Want to start assignment 2 but concentration levels still at an all time low :(
Generally I appear to have done quite well, my weakness being an inability to punctuate properly. this may be down to laziness on my part though.
According to the course notes, I am supposed to incorporate the feedback in my learning log (ie this blog). Not sure how this works practically, so for now I'll just save the comments with the original assignments and cross the bridge as and when I need to.
Want to start assignment 2 but concentration levels still at an all time low :(
Tuesday 29 December 2009
Assignment 1
Submitted today. The dreaded swine flu is still lingering and has scuppered my concentration levels to such an extent I can barely string a sentence together, let alone think about study. I hope to begin looking at the second part of the course later this week.
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